Department of
Medical Education

Grant Neely, MD

Grant Neely, M.D.

Board Certification: Anesthesiology

Medical School: West Virginia University

Residency: West virginia University

Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor

Special Clinical/Research Interests:

  • Associate Program Director of the Regional and Acute Pain Fellowship
  • Medical student recruitment
  • Residency education and wellness
  • Digital media and online liaison for the department and residency
  • Charge anesthesiologist
  • Total Joint Arthroplasty optimization

Is there a particular population of students (e.g., ethnicity, spiritual, sexual orientation) that you would particularly like to advise?

  • Native West Virginians who are passionate about caring for the people in their communities.

What does a typical day in the life of an anesthesiologist include?

  • Anesthesiologists evaluate, monitor, and supervise patient care before, during, and after surgery leading the anesthesia care team. I care for patients all over the hospital ranging from orthopedics, neurosurgery, obstetrics, and interventional radiology. I have subspecialty training in regional and acute pain and on certain days will perform nerve blocks and manage acute pain outside of the operating room. As a charge anesthesiologist, I will manage and coordinate operations for all the operating rooms and anesthetizing sites for that day.

What is the biggest challenge of being an anesthesiologist?

  • Ensuring effective communication at all times with patients and the perioperative care team which includes surgeons, residents, nurse anesthetists, surgical and anesthesia technicians, and perioperative nurses.

How do you foresee anesthesiology changing over the next 20 years?

  • Implementation of new technologies. Every Anesthesiologist will be required to have advanced knowledge of new monitoring techniques like echocardiography that will improve and ensure patient safety.

What advice would you give a student who is considering a residency in your specialty?

  • As a medical student, I enjoyed almost every rotation and initially had trouble narrowing down what I wanted to do as a specialty. Anesthesiology offers the ability to be involved and knowledgeable with a large variety of medicine, ranging from endocrinology to oncologic surgery, and even obstetrics. If practicing in high acuity environments and caring for patients during their most vulnerable moments sounds appealing, Anesthesiology may be for you.